Digital Manufacturing: Two Medical Molders Embrace Industry 4.0
‘Digitalization’ and ‘connectivity’ are loaded terms—shorthand for a whole new way of doing business. It can’t be accomplished in one go. But two Midwest molders in the sensitive medical field are already feeling the benefits of their initial steps in that direction.

NPE Wrap-Up: News in Primary Machinery, Part 1
Rounding up details from the Big Show not previously reported in all our other coverage, here’s more news in injection and blow molding, extrusion and compounding. Next month, we’ll conclude with recycling/scrap reclaim, robots, tooling, auxiliary equipment, materials and additives.

News Highlights from NPE2018
Developments in Industry 4.0, multi-layer preform molding, automation, LSR processing, and PP were among the major newsbreakers at May’s show. And one film processor finalized purchases of 13 new lines.

More Automation = More Capable Robots
More complex automation tasks require use of six-axis robots, often in combination with linear robots, as well as use of machine vision, SCARA robots, and collaborative types.